A Comet's Tale
by Midnight Crew
Summary: Retelling the story A Blazing Comet, the spin-off of The Lunar Destiny. Cometpaw's story is of him trying to find order and happiness, but his sister is somehow tearing apart order and sensibility and he must keep her from driving the world into madness.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note:** This is a rewrite of our older fic _A Blazing Comet_ , which some of you may know as the spinoff of our other fic The Lunar Destiny, which is the story told from the sane and realistic point of view of Cometpaw. It may not hurt to read _The Lunar Destiny_ if you don't mind terrible trollfics because this ties into that deeply.

I do hope you enjoy.

* * *

 _Though the dark moon blinds us all, follow the tail of a comet and order will be restored._

The words, silky yet unfamiliar, whispered at the corner of Cometkit's mind. Just out of reach, scratching at the edges of his awareness but always forgotten whenever he tried to focus on it. For the entirety of his rather short life thus far, he could always feel it in his mind, but could never make out the words. Even now, at six moons of age, these words were still out of his reach, a prophecy he could not hear.

He could feel something big and soft prod at his side, a paw? It shook him gently as a soft and comforting voice reached his ears, "Cometkit? Wake up, dear," his mother, Frostwing, whom he thought to be the most beautiful cat in the camp with her sleek white fur and eyes that shone brighter than the stars. At her insistence, he cracked his own eyes open, "Today is a very special day, Cometkit, do you know what today is?"

What _was_ today? His mind was still caught up in the web of dreams and sleep, it was hard to focus let alone remember any dates.

But, a moment passed before a he scrambled to his paws, excitement prickling through his body as he jolted awake as he realized just what today marked for him. "My ceremony!" he mewed, "I'm being apprenticed today!"

Oh, this was the day he had been looking forward to since he could remember! The day he began training as a warrior, the day that he could make his clan proud and dedicate himself to defending and caring for it just at it had defended and cared for him while he was a kit! His heart swelled within his chest at the thought of all the good he could do.

"Correct" Frostwing purred, bending down to lick his forhead, smoothing out some tufts of fur up there, "you're going to be such an amazing apprentice. I'm so proud of you."

Heat stung at his body, embarrassment flushing through him, "Mom," he complained weakly. He loved her, he really did, but it was embarrassing when she did that among the other cats. The younger kits were in there, for StarClan's sake! He could see Tornadokit and Floodkit watching them with eyes wide. He had to admit they had strange names, not that he would dare say it to their faces, then again, 'Cometkit' wasn't all that normal for a name either.

As he tried to sidestep away from his mother, she gently knocked him back into place, "You are my darling little son, and I will mother you as much as I want to," she said, a scolding tone but he knew she was only teasing him.

They laughed for a little while, the other kits joining in to tackle and congratulate Cometkit for finally getting to move out of the nursery and him assuring them that they would follow suite in just a few moons. He loved playing with them, they were good kits, excitable and innocent and just so fun to be around.

As he was with the younger ones, his mother moved over to the nest to try and wake up his sister. Shaking her gently, speaking to her until she resorted to giving her a few hard prods to wake up.

Lunarkit… his joy turned into irritation faster than a bird falling from the sky.

He and his sister had a… poor relation to put it simply. He didn't hate her, no, she was his littermate he doubted he could bring himself to hate Lunarkit. But that didn't mean he didn't find her irredeemably annoying and obnoxious. The she-cat was always trapped in her own little world where she saw herself as the top cat, she acted as though she were better than anyone and everyone, only did what she wanted to. It just… frustrated him!

Even more, the rest of the Clan seemed to bend to her every desire.

Not wanting to deal with her so early in the day, Cometkit said his goodbyes to the rest of the kits and made his way out into the clearing. He was out of the den just as Lunarkit was waking up, and even outside he could hear her obnoxiously loud voice screeching through the air in her high and mighty excitement.

No doubt as soon as she realized what was going on today, everything would become even more centered around her. Great.

He hadn't even made it to his usual spot to sit as cats began gathering when a streak of black- oh, excuse me, a streak of _dark purple almost black_ rushed past him in a hurry. Pushing past every cat in her way as she made it to the very front of the crowd. No one seemed to mind the rude shoves and lack of apologies from his sister, though he knew they'd be at his throat if he pulled the same stunt.

Their own Clan leader, Fallingstar, paid no mind to her usual behavior as the meeting was started.

He almost didn't notice his mother approaching until she butted her head against him to force him to stand, herding him away from his usual spot to sit up front with his sister. He felt uncomfortable up front, with the crowd of cats behind him, but sat up tall for his mother as she beamed in pride beside him.

The ceremony went off without a hitch. Lunarkit behaved in her usual selfish and self-centered nature, it quickly became all about her and Cometkit was certain that Fallingstar wasn't even preforming the ceremony correctly in the first place. That bothered him a little bit, a ceremony done incorrectly couldn't be a good sign, but no one seemed to notice or care so maybe he was just imagining it?

Lunarpaw was made apprentice to Graniteheart, a big, broad shouldered warrior that could plow through most of any cats when one got him charging. He was intimidating in appearance, but most of the Clan knew that he was nothing but a big softie on the inside. The young tom could only hope that his sister didn't walk all over the warrior, but knew in his heart that it was exactly what she would do.

To his own amazement, as he was named Cometpaw, he was given Blueflame as a mentor. Not what he would have expected seeing as the she-cat had only been made a warrior a short while ago. Just a few moons ago she was cleaning out the elders' dens and bringing fresh kill to the nursery. Blueflame was a powerful cat, even if she was still young, and struck a level of fear into other cats that was hard to copy. She was quiet, always watching, always seemed to know what was going on.

In honesty, Cometpaw was a little intimidated that he was going to be her apprentice. He just prayed to StarClan he could live up to whatever expectations the warrior had of him.

He was hesitant as he reached up to touch noses with his mentor. She didn't say anything, not unusual in the least, but it still took all his willpower not to shrink under the scrutiny of her stony gaze. He wanted to speak, but he felt like he'd be breaking an unspoken rule if he spoke up without his mentor letting him.

As the cats dispersed, the two apprentices and their mentors stayed where they were, sitting in silence, surprisingly it turned out Lunarpaw _could_ be quiet for more than five second. The silence was disturbed when Graniteheart spoke up in his deep rumble of a voice.

"How about we kick off this experience with giving you two a tour of the territory?" he offered, looking at the apprentices, "I'm sure you two would love to know where everything is. Don't want you to get lost and wander into SunClan territory by mistake."

Cometpaw found himself nodding beside Blueflame, it would be awful not to mention embarrassing to accidentally cross into another cats' territory because he didn't know where the border was. But, to no surprise, Lunarpaw twitched her tail in irritation at the idea, narrowing her eyes as she spoke up an objection.

"I want to train!" she demanded childishly, and Cometpaw had to resist the urge to heave a heavy sigh at her requests. Yet, when Graniteheart didn't pose any resistance and instead just blindly agreed to her demands, he had to resist the urge to give into his annoyance yet again.

He already felt sorry for the tom. No one deserved to suffer through dealing with his sister.

The two were already leaving the camp when he looked up at his mentor, pawing at the ground nervously, contemplating whether he should dare ask or not. But with the way she was looking at him, it was as though she was waiting for him to speak up. That helped to bolster his courage to ask, "I'd… if it's okay with you of course, I'd rather tour the territory rather than jumping into training." He was hesitant as he spoke, not sure if it was his place to or not. He wanted to be a good apprentice, not a pawful of one that the warrior was eager to get rid of.

But his mentor was nodding, walking towards the entrance, "Good choice. I want you to be familiar with the Clans territory before anything else," she said, her voice was soft and steady, with undefiled authority lacing each word. She was certainly a more strict mentor than Graniteheart, "this territory is your home, and you need to understand what it is you'll be risking your own life to defend when trouble comes."

As she walked along the forest floor with Cometpaw following, few words were spoken between them. Blueflame would only give a brief explanation of what they would pass by. The clearing where they would be training, the stream where they would get water or wash their paws.

Moss covered the trees and padded the floor, it would be easy to get moss for nests or for any other need his duties would require it for.

It took a while, but when they reached the border his mentor had him walk along it. She was much more chatty now, giving him warnings and tidbits on the other clans as they reached each border, even had him strengthen some of the scent markings, showing him how it was done even.

"This is the border we share with SunClan," she said as she pawed at a flat stone that acted as one of the border markers, "They are decent cats, good allies to rely on. I'd say that if there was ever a clan a cat needed to run to for help, SunClan would be the best choice to go to." Cometpaw could only nod as they walked, making sure to keep that bit of information in mind. He'd never met a SunClan cat, but he'd trust his mentors opinion of them.

By the time they were returning to camp the sun was beginning its dip down below the horizon and Cometpaws paws were so sore, as though they were ready to fall off any second. He'd never walked for that long before, but it was kind of exciting in a way. He was looking forward to whatever tasks Blueflame would have him do tomorrow.

Blueflame had assured him that he would grow used to the distance they walked, and before long his paws wouldn't even hurt anymore walking around the territory.

"I want you to go to Bleedingheart's den when we get back, get something for your paws," Blueflame instructed as they approached the entrance, "Then get something to eat and rest. You'll have a lot of work tomorrow."

At the mention of eating, his stomach gurgled loudly much to his shame. But his mentor paid it no mind, just dipping her head under the bramble hanging over the entrance and making her way over to a few other warriors and the apprentice hurried his way to the medicine cats den to do as he was instructed.

The sooner he got his paws checked out, the sooner he could eat.

But, he had to slow his pace when he noticed the difference of the clan. They seemed so… excited? But he couldn't understand why, had something happened while he and Blueflame had been out?

Ducking into the den, he was face to face with the medicine cat who purred in greeting, "Cometpaw, it is nice to see you. I suspect you need something for your paws?" the older she-cat said as Cometpaw sat down.

"How could you tell?" he asked in good humor as the cat went to mix up some herbs for him. He tilted his head in greeting as Gingerpaw approached him, "Hello."

"Hello, Cometpaw," she said, and like the rest of the clan she was buzzing with excitement, "Did you hear about Lunarpaw?" she asked, and that got him to tilt his head in curiosity. What stupidity had his sister got wrapped up into this time? "Lunarpaw died fighting a badger, but then she came back to life!" the medicine cats apprentice exclaimed.

Cometpaw almost choked on the very air he was breathing, "what?"

The older she-cat gave a small laugh, "Well, she didn't actually _die_ , but, she was really close to it, and then she woke up and was perfectly fine, like a miracle from StarClan," she explained to the tom, "it was amazing! I'd never seen anything like it before! Then Fallingstar declared that she was going to be leader after him!"

The reddish furred tom could only stare at her, searching for some kind of hint that she was joking. His mind couldn't comprehend what he had just heard as it being reality. It just didn't make any sense at all. Their leader had decided to make Lunarpaw a leader when she was of age? Lunarpaw? He cared for his sister, but, Lunarpaw was a terrible choice for a leader! She was arrogant, selfish, dimwitted and had too few redeeming qualities, yet she was a candidate for leadership?

Wasn't that also kind of a heavy weight to put on a cat who had just been made an apprentice? With all due respect, he had to wonder what Fallingstar was thinking!

His mind was too wrapped up over what he'd learned that he was just vaguely aware of his paws being finished in their treatment, stumbling out of the den with his mind in a haze. It took him a few minutes to recover, but just barely. His body was on autopilot as he began nibbling on a small mouse, trying to understand what was going on.

Lunarpaw was going to be leader.

Just… why? Who in their right mind thought that was a good idea?


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note:** We're trying to follow the original _The Blazing Comet_ as close as we can while revising and making it better. So if you've read that, you know what kind of things are in store, though we will take out a good chunk of the BS in _TBC_ for this version.

* * *

It had been just a couple of days since he'd been made an apprentice. The sun would soon begin its descent over the horizon and bring night to the sky as the moon rose. Cometpaw had been lucky to have been given light training for the day, it mostly consisted of practicing hunting and basic dodging moves, though initially it confused him. However it made sense why Blueflame went easy on him when Fallingstar announced that he and Lunarpaw would be attending the Gathering that night.

He didn't quite understand _why_ they were going to the Gathering. They had just been made apprentices the other day. Wasn't it a little early? Like, really, really early? He would have thought they would wait until maybe the _next_ Gathering at least before his sister and he went.

But, it was best if he ignored it. His whole clan had been acting weird the past few days… well, weirder than they usually behaved. Whiich was honestly saying something considering how they acted at times. Some days, Cometpaw had to sit down and wonder if he were the only sane cat in the clan.

Well, that was a little harsh, he supposed. Echopaw and Blueflame were pretty normal compared to everyone else, even though his mother had her moments, she was saner than the majority.

Still, it made him happy, excited even, to know he was going to a Gathering. His first one, oh, he had to make sure he made a good impression on the other clans!

A shadow fell over him and Cometpaw looked up as a mouse was dropped at his paws. Blueflame sat down beside him, licking at the fur on her paw and brushing it over her ear, not saying a word. She didn't need to, a single glance at the mouse and then at him and Cometpaw understood what she wanted. He had been learning to understand her silent commands, though it wasn't perfect yet.

She wanted him to eat, so he had a full stomach during the walk to the Great Tree for the Gathering. It was his first time on that journey after all, and Cometpaw appreciated her actions.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see his sister bragging about her apparent badger kill to the other cats. Puffing out her chest and purring far too loudly. Cometpaw couldn't help but call foxdung on her claims. There was no way, no possible way that an apprentice with no training could kill a badger on her own. The badger had probably been pretty old, sick maybe, either way it couldn't have been in any shape to fight, that was the only logical conclusion for how his sister had won if she had fought a badger in the first place, there wasn't even confirmation that there had been a badger either, no reports of dens and such.

Now, don't even get him started on the 'resurrection' dung that the Clan was so pent up on. _Both_ Bleedingheart and Gingerpaw had confirmed that Lunarpaw never died; she was close to it, yes, but had never once lost her life. Yes, the supposed miraculous healing did call some concern, but she'd never died, she never came back to life. Why couldn't they understand that, did they all have bees for brains?

He was roused out of his own internal complaints when he noticed cats beginning to gather. Oh… it was time to leave, wasn't it? He hadn't even realized he'd finished his mouse and was just lying there for Silverpelt knew how long. No one seemed to notice that he'd been in his own thoughts though, of course they wouldn't. The Clan was still fawning over his sister.

He hurried his way to the other cats, taking a spot beside his mentor towards the rear of the group, tilting his head so he could look over the taller cats and see his leader at the front, and alongside him was the Clan deputy, Honeybear, another odd name he had to note.

Before leading the cats out, Fallingstar looked to the group and began speaking, "Lunarpaw!" he called out to the crowd, and Cometpaw could only watch as cats parted like a sea for his sister to make it to the front. "Because of the skills you have already displayed, the power you have shown to possess, would you be willing to lead us to the Gathering tonight?"

His sister didn't even hesitate before breaking into small bounces like a rabbit, "Yes!" she mewled excitedly.

Cometpaw could only stare in horror at this. His sister was going to lead the group? That wasn't right! She didn't even know where the Great Tree was, how could she lead the clan to it? It was Fallingstars job to lead the Clan, he couldn't make a cat who'd just been dubbed an apprentice lead the cats!

The others cheered over this change, Cometpaw did not, "You... you can't do that," he mumbled incredulously, taking a wary step forward, preparing the speak his objection again and louder to be heard over the chorus of delighted yowls from the cats around him. What was wrong with this Clan? His disbelief was clear as could be and his jaw hung loose.

Before he could take another step, before he could voice argument, a gray tail with hints of blue came to rest on his back, halting his movements before he could take another step.

"Don't bother," his mentor said, voice barely above a whisper, her eyes fixed in front of them, "It's best you let it go, it's not worth getting worked up over."

He hesitated, but slowly nodded. A moment later the tail was off him and his mentor looked down at him finally, her bright blue eyes sharp and focused, trained on him making him feel as though she were searching for something. It took all he had to not shrink under her gaze. But, eventually she looked away and began walking as the clan took off.

Cometpaw hesitated before trailing after her.

His first Gathering… his excitement was turning to dread, wondering how it was going to end up, wondering how his sister was going to take the spotlight.

The journey was long, but it still paled in comparison to his first day wandering the territory with Blueflame. The moon was almost at its peak by the time the cats arrived, and Cometpaw couldn't help but feel that they wouldn't have been quite so late had the group just left instead of spending so much time celebrating that his sister of leading. They would have made much better time if they hadn't had her lead in the first place.

Like he had said, she didn't know where the Gathering took place and a good part of the journey had been spent with her wandering in the wrong direction.

 _Why_ had Fallingstar had her lead them again?

The other clans didn't seem too pleased by the tardiness, but thankfully kept their comments to themselves as NightClan dispersed into the crowd. Lunarpaw trying to bound to the tree as though she were leader, only to remember at last second that she wasn't and fall back as Fallingstar instead took his place among the other Clan leaders.

Cometpaw's whiskers twitched as he looked out along the cats. He saw the medicine cats along one side, the deputies sat at the base of the tree below their leaders, warriors from all the clans talking and conversing like old friends.

It was… strange.

He spotted a group of smaller cats, apprentices like himself, and moved to head towards them. Maybe he could make some friends with the others too, meet the fellow apprentices.

Yet his steps faltered when his sister bounded up to the others, eagerly and easily conversing with the apprentices who seemed to quickly and happily return her chatting and speak in return. They seemed happy talking to her, as strange a concept it was for him.

Tail dropping slightly, Cometpaw stepped backwards and instead took a seat beside his mentor, head ducked down.

She didn't say anything, but did give him a curious look. But as she looked at him and then at the apprentices that seemed to surround his sister, she understood what the problem was.

He didn't want to be with them, not when his sister was already taking head of the group. With Lunarpaw in the group they would all fawn over her like his Clan did, and he'd be ignored or forgotten like he already felt the Clan did for him. Honestly? The only ones who seemed to really remember he existed on a daily basis was Echopaw, his mother and Blueflame. He could probably run away from the Clan and the only ones who would notice would be those three.

Really, it didn't do much to help his sense of self-esteem and self-worth.

His mind quickly drew to focus as the leaders began to speak. Starting off with Horsestar the DayClan leader who stepped to the edge of the tree branch.

"DayClan has been doing good this past moon," he spoke loud, his voice rippling through the air, "Tawnyface gave birth earlier this moon to Blackkit, a strong young she-cat who we are happy to have join our clan."

A few cats broke into cheers for the healthy kit as he stepped back.

Next up was Jupiterstar of SunClan. Cometpaw had to wonder just what exactly a 'Jupiter' was, but shook that thought from his mind when the leader began speaking. "SunClan has also been treated well, we even gained a new warrior," he nodded to a muddy brown tom sitting towards the middle, "we are happy to say that Rockypaw has now became Rockyroad."

Rockyroad? What kind of name was that? Not to mention Cometpaw didn't know _what_ in Silverpelt a 'road' was. Some kind of animal?

He watched as the new SunClan warrior ducked his head in embarrassment, possibly from the cats cheering his name, possibly because of the name itself he was given. But, the leader of his Clan backed down at Fallingstar took to speaking now.

"NightClan has done very well," he announced to the cats, and his Clanmates were clearly pleased when it was their turn, "we have gained two new apprentices. Lunarpaw, whom I have decided I wish to succeed me as Leader when she is warrior, and Cometpaw."

The cats yowled their names in a cheer, yet it didn't go unnoticed how Cometpaw could barely hear his own name through the cries of 'Lunarpaw'.

Still, he looked at his paws in embarrassment as his name, though hard to hear, was cheered. Fur feeling warmer than usual, and even his mentor had a strange shine in her eyes as she watched him, pride, maybe? Yet, he couldn't help the flush of annoyance when his leader named Lunarpaw his successor. Jealousy and anger were quick to overshadow his own positive feelings, jealousy and anger at his own littermate.

How pathetic could he be?

Fallinstar stepped back so Hotstar could deliver his own Clan news. His scarred face had a solemn look to it, "MoonClan has not been as lucky as the others. A lion has made its way to the edge of our territory and has been preying on our prey and warriors," he announced, and a wave of unease fell upon the cats gathered. He lowered his head in shame, "we have tried all we can, but we have not been able to drive it out. I fear my clan may be forced to relocate because of this."

Worried murmurs rippled through the cats as he continued to explain the situation with the lion. Moving on to better news, but the shadow the lion caused still filled his words.

Cometpaw stared at the ground, feeling his fur prickle with fear, fear for this Clan. A lion, what was a _lion_ even doing at the territories? Either way, it's presence wasn't good, a lion would run the prey scarce and kill the Clan. When MoonClan was gone, it'd move onto the other Clans.

He felt horrible for MoonClan, he really did. No one deserved to be terrorized be a lion, and he wanted to help them so badly. But, what could he do when the warriors could do nothing?

Right now, even though it was a rival Clan, he felt useless for not being able to help.


End file.
